The Application of Community Psychology Values and Guiding Concepts to School Consultation

Our main purpose in this article is to introduce a value-based approach to planning in educational settings. Based on some of the central values of community psychology, namely, caring and compassion, health, self-determination and participation, human diversity, and distributive justice, we present a framework that may be used to guide school consultation work. Following an explanation of the rationale and need for a value-based framework, we describe, in a case study, how we implemented this approach in helping a secondary school to identify problem areas and to begin to develop interventions that would address their particular needs, strengths, and resources. We describe how we attempted to enact the values just mentioned during the preentry, entry, work, and separation phases of the consultative process. The unique contribution of this article lies in the articulation of community psychology values and their application in school settings. The challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned in implementing a value-based approach are explored